Designer Spotlight: Aleksandar Dimitrov

This weeks Designer Spotlight focuses on Aleksandar Dimitrov, the Bulgarian artist and photographer based in France with a simple, lovely design aesthetic.

Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? Where are you located?I’m Aleksandar Dimitrov, a Bulgarian product designer, visualization artist and photographer based in Lyon, France.

What’s the story behind your designs? What inspires you?Simplicity. I’m trying to think of smart and practical solutions usually built on existing objects, be it natural creations or prior products. My designs strive to be economical, both in material and aesthetic aspects. I admire every creation of mother nature and my designs reflect that.

What brought you to 3D printing with Shapeways?I remember seeing Shapeways being mentioned on the Rhino3D website. I was particularly happy to see the offering of 3D printing because for me as a designer it delivered a sense of independence from the traditional manufacturing methods. 3D printing allows me to troubleshoot my design flaws and learn from past mistakes. It did take some time for me to adapt my workflow to suit 3D printing technologies and get to feel comfortable with it, but I feel it was well worth it.

How did you learn how to design in 3D?Modeling in 3D has always been my passion – in fact long before I started studying design. I started with AutoCAD at school, and then I worked with Solid Edge and a little bit with Unigraphics. Eleven years ago I discovered Rhino3D and it has been my software of choice ever since. Also, I realized that it is not always a straightforward choice to focus on 3D modeling alone- as my career progressed I found it beneficial to explore 3D visualizations and photography as well.

How do you promote your work?Mostly through design blogs, or discussing things with fellow designers, in person and sometimes online. Also I’m active on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.

Who are your favorite designers or artists? Who in the Shapeways community has served as an inspiration to you?Bathsheba – Art out of mathematics. Too advanced.Moflo – That’s probably the funniest concept I can think of.MichielCornelissen – Quality and a perfect example of how to target your designs.

If you weren’t limited by current technologies, what would you want to make using 3D printing?I would go for bigger objects, combining several materials.

Check out Aleksandar’s the full collection here. He’s also all around the web on Flickr, Twitter, his own blog and website! If you’d like to be featured, feel free to email aimee@shapeways.com.